US2000918A - Tension control means - Google Patents

Description

May. 14, 1935. w, BROMS" 2,000,918

TENSION CONTROL MEANS Filed Feb; 2:5, 1932 2 Shets-Sheet 1 May 14, 1935. w. BROMS' 7 2,000,918

TENSION CONTROL MEANS Filed Feb. 23, 1952 2 Sheets-800st 2- Patented May 14, 1935 I 2,000,918

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TENSION ooN'rRoL MEANS Arthur W. Broms, Chicago, 111.

Application February 23, 1932, sci-n1 No. 594,523

' 11 Claims. ((1242-75) invention relates totension control means, and spring balanced retarding means for engagand more particularly. to means for controlling ing and traveling along with the continuous sheet the tension in sheet material unreeling from a of material while it is being drawn from the roll, roll. and which control means further includes brake 5 The main object of this invention is to provide means adapted to be pre-set for providing and 5 means which will always maintain an even or maintaining adesirable slight tension and reuniform tension in sheet material traveling from tarding effect under usual conditions, also includ a roll; as for example, a continuous sheet of paing additional brake means which is automaticalper traveling from the paper-roll to a printing 1y applied when the pull on the material is de- D creased or stopped and the roll continues to un- Another object is to provide control means reeltoo'freely, and which automatic brake means for sheet material drawn from a roll, so arranged is again released when the slackness in the methat, whenever the pull on the material deterialistakezi up,,' 7 creases or when the material breaks andjthe These andigr'a'rious other objects and advanroll by its momentum continues to rotate and tages willrbecoi'ne apparent from the following 15 unreel, said control means will be automatically description; taken in connection with the accomactuated to check the rotation of the roll and panying drawings,'in which the inventionis illusthe unreeling of the sheet material in such a trated in its preferred form of construction, it manner as to maintain an even tension in the being understood that various other arrangemflteliah 'ments and forms of construction may be re- 20 Still another object is to provide such tension sorted to for carrying out the objects and purcontrol mechanism which is adapted to be adposes of this invention. justed or pre-set to produce a certain retarding In the drawings: effect for maintaining a. desired tension in ma- Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating my terial that is unreeling and while the material novel tension control meansin its preferred form 25 is traveling at a substantially constant rate of of construction, and as operating on acontinuous speed, and which mechanism will automatically sheet of material while it is being drawn from produce additional retarding effect when the the roll. I material becomes slack or breaks and the roll Fig.2isaside elevational view of the invention, continues to unreel ahead of the lead, such adshowing in full lines the parts in the normal ditional retarding effect being automatically operative position, and showing in broken lines diminished as such desired tension is again imthe position assumed by certain parts when the parted to the unreeling material. roll runsahead of the lead.

A further object is to provide an improved Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the tension control means for unreeling material, combined manual and automatic brake device. 35 preferably by equipping it with retarding means In certain machines, such as printing p e s which engages the material and is driven which perform work on sheet material which is through such engagement, and which also indrawn or supplied from a roll, mechanism is procludes brake means to apply a braking effect vided for supporting and journalling the roll.

upon said retarding means and therethrough and this preferably comprises a swingable sup- 4 to the material engaged thereby while it is being porting'frame containing a pairof side bars 8 unreeled. connected centrally by a rod ,9 which is adjusta- A still further object is to provide-control bly mounted in bracketsmembers or supporting means for retarding and maintaining an even posts III, said bars and rod I being'normally and balanced tension in material drawn from a clamped or held firmly in position within said 45 roll, wherein said retarding means includes flexbracket members, but to allow swinging and adible means which engages and travels along with justing thereof, as by the use of means ll, so as the material and maintains the required arcing to place and support the roll. in the desired posicontact with the roll and furthermore includes tion. Each end of the pair of bars 8 is provided 60 resilient means for -normally a ng an with suitable means, as indicated at l2, for cenequalized uniform tension in the material, tering and rotatably supporting the roll of paper whether the rolbis a full new one or a small debetween said ends. pleted one. i v The continuous sheet of paper or material l3 .Still another/object is to provide such improved issues from the upper roll I 4 mounted between tension control means which comprises weighted the upper ends of said bars, while a new roll i5 is, in the meantime, mounted between the lower ends of said bars, to be swung and supported in the proper upper position by the manipulation of means H, as soon as the'preceding upper roll is depleted, as is well understood in this art.

In my invention the continuous sheet of material I 3 is guided from the roll l4 over a guide roller i6 which has stems II at its ends Journalled in bearing blocks I8 which are adjustably moimted, as by means of adjusting elements ll, in a pair of bracket arms 20, said arms being swingably supported, for example, by bracket means 2i provided on upper frame means or a beam 22 s which is supported on frame posts or standards 23. Two check members, such as dash-pots 24, are pivotally mounted by bracket means 28 on the upper frame means 22 and have protruding piston rods or stems 2G pivotally attached to lugs 20' on the sides of arms 20, so that-when the lead from the feedroll becomes slack said arms 20 with roller l6 may descend freely through the action of gravity, from the slanting retracted position shown in full lines in.- the drawings, to the lower position shown inbrokan lines in Fig. 2; however, so that the return travel of said arms 28 and of the rods 28 into dash-pots 24 will be effected slowly and gradually as the tension in the sheet of material is again increased.

This improved tension control means includes retarding means or members 80 which engage the sheet of material and travel a. certain distance therewith, and whereby a slight retarding effect and tension is constantly applied to the traveling material. This means preferably comprises a plurality of endless traveling belts which engagement to travel freely over the pulleys 8!,

as and as; and as these belts areof flexible or pliable material, as -for example, leather, they will curve or are properly on the roll whatever the size of the roll may be, whether a-small depleted roll, as shown by roll l4 in Fig. 1, or a large new roll as shown by roll I! therein.

Means is provided to constantly produce a moderate tension in the belts and maintain a moderate pressure of the belts on the material roll, to normally maintain a slight retarding effect on and tension in the unreeling' material. For this purpose, the lowei'f pulleys 88 are weighted, each pulley having'a'fiair ofrods 88 depending from its axle shaft arid carryinga weight 40 at the lower ends thereof, being also adapted to receive and support additional veights 4| thereon, as may be necessary. Said weights 48 and 4| travel vertically along guide rods 42 which are retained in proper position by a cross-bar 43 mounted on uprights 23. The variation in the size of the roll is automatically compensated for by the weighted pulleys 88 through their upward and downward movement along the guide rods 42. v

I also provide resilient means for equalizing the tension on the material to compensate forthe 'diflerence in diameter or the size of the roll, and for that purpose springs 44 are preferably mounted on guide rods 42, between the weights and cross-bar 43. When the upper roll is full, and its diameter and momentum is at a maximum, the belts lift the weights and greatly depress the springs, thereby increasing their tension; and as the roll decreases in size, the belts allow the weights to descend and the springs to become a greater arcing contact between said roll and the belts, thus causing a longer grasp of the belts on the material and also a greater tension in the belts and greater retarding eflect thereby on the material. This retarding means is pre-set, by using the proper weights 40 and, and springs 44 of proper tension, and by properly adjusting bars 8 and roll l4, thereby pre-arranging this means for slack and decrease their effect, thereby decreas the desired slight and equalized retarding eifect and tension on the material.

I furthermore provide means herein for producing additional retarding effect and tension in the material as it is being drawn from the roll;'

and this means is preferably in the form of brake means applied to the above described primary retarding means or control means, and like it,'is adapted to be pro-set, so as to increase the retarding eflect on the roll and the tension in the material drawn therefrom, whenever found expedient. This brake means or additional retarding means preferably comprises a brake drum 50 secured on one end of shaft 32, and cooperating brake means, for example, a brake band 5| carrying brake shoes 52 to engage the exterior of said drum, said band being supported in proper position by a bar 53 secured thereto and to frame v28. An operating shaft 54 is extended through the two ends 5 l of band 5!, having threaded connection with one of said ends and having rotary connection with the other, said shaft being operated manually by a hand wheel 55 secured on one end thereof, whereby to press and-retain said shoes against the brake drum and to release them therefrom. This manually adiusted brake means is adapted to be pre-set and thus functions as a secondary control means or to be used in conjunction with the above described primary control means, both of which .are adapted to be pre-set or adjusted for accurately producing the desirable retarding effect and tension, under all normal conditions, so as to constantly maintain an even and uniform tension in the material. I

In conjunction with said primary and secondary control means provided with this invention, I'furthermore provide control means which is automatically actuated under abnormal conditions,

'as when the material breaks or when the pull on the material is suddenly considerably decreased. This automatic control means preferably comprises brake means which is-applied to drum SI,

"as for example, a brake band 54 carrying brake its other end pivoted to a rod 6| which is pivotally connected with a lug 62 provided on the side of arm 20. A bar or rod is secured to band 56, and extends therefrom to frame post 23 for supporting the band in its proper position.

With this arrangement, when the material is traveling under the usual conditions and is under normal tension, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the guide roller It with its supporting arms 20 are forced rearwardly into their elevated operative position, and they in turn force rod GI and lever 60 rearwardly into the brake-release position, as indicated in full lines in the drawings, thereby moving block 58 and shoes 51 also into the brake-release position, as best shown in Fig. 3. Then, whenever the material breaks, or when the pull on the material is decreased and the latter becomes slack, and the roll endeavors to unreel ahead of the lead, the arms 20 with the guide roll l5 carried thereby will, by the force of gravity, promptly descend into the idle position, while rod 26 is thereby freely drawn outwardly of dashpot 24, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2; thereby drawing lever 0 forward so as to expand brake band 56 and press brake shoes 51 firmly against the brake drum, and promptly checking normally maintaining a slight tension in the material as it travels from the roll, and that at the same time the variation in the retarding effect required due to the change in the size of the roll, is automatically compensated for with this invention. It is also apparent that I have provided for readily applying additional retarding and tensioning stress to the material whenever that is needed, so that the retardation can be definitely adjusted to provide theexaot tension desired; also that these two tension control means are accurately adjustable for providing a very elastic tension control for unreeling material to cover the various usual or normal conditions. It is furthermore evident that with my automatic control means I provide a prompt check and stop of the unreeling material whenever any unusual condition sets in, as when the material breaks or when the pull on the material is suddenly decreased or stopped, whereby any further unreeling of the material is automatically checked or stopped and the roll is prevented from running ahead of the lead. This invention thus covers an exceptionally wide range of tension control on sheet material traveling from a roll, and which can be very readily adjusted to produce from a very mild to a very strong retarding efiect on the roll and tension inthe material unreeling therefrom.

I claim:

1. Tension control means for material travelingfrom a roll, comprising belt means mounted to have an arced contact with the roll and-to be driven thereby, rotary means for supporting said belt means, brake means adjustably applicable to one of said rotary means for retarding its movement and the movement of said belt means to a predetermined extent, for maintain ing an even tension in the material, and other brake means connected to said adjustable brake means and roll when the material suddenly slackens.

v 3. Means for controlling the tension in traveling material, comprising means which engages the material and is driven thereby, primary means for causing a slight retarding efiect on said driven means and thereby on the material, means adjustable for causing additional retarding efl'ect on said driven means, and means automatically actuated by the sudden \variation of tension in the material for automatically controlling the movement of said driven means and thereby the travel of the material under abvnormal conditions and for stopping the roll upon tearing of the material.

4. Tension control means for material traveling from a roll, comprising belt means and means for supporting it so as to engage the roll and to be driven thereby, means carried by some of said supporting means for producing a slight and automatically equalized retarding effect on the belt means and thereby on the roll, means operating on other of said supporting means to produce an additional and predetermined retarding efiect upon said belt means and roll, guide means engaged by the traveling material and moved thereby while under normal tension, and automatic brake means actuated by said guide means to stop the travel of said belt means and the roll when the material breaks and when it suddenly slackens.

5. Tension control means for material drawn from a roll, comprising-endless belt means and rotary means for supporting the same to produce an arced contact with the roll so as to be driven thereby, means carried by some of said rotary means for producing tension in and a slight retarding effect on the belt means and thereby on the roll, means operable on' some of said rotary means to produce a certain retarding eflect upon the belt means and roll under normal conditions, guide means over which said material .travels and which normally moves against gravity to an elevated position, automatic brake means connected with the last mentioned rotary means, and means connecting said guide means with said automatic brake means to actuate the latter when the guide means descends under the action of gravity, upon any sudden slackening or breaking of the material.

6. Tension control means for material traveling from a roll, comprising belt means and meansfor supporting the same so as to engage the roll and to be driven thereby, means connected with some of said supporting means for normally producing a slight retarding effect on the belt means and theroll and tension in the material, guide means over which said material travels and which is normally carried to a retracted position thereby, automatic retarding means to act on said belt means, means connecting said automatic retarding means with said guide means and being normally held in release position thereby but being moved to active position therewith when the material breaks or suddenly slackens, and check means connected with said guide means to provide for a slow retracting movement but a prompt forward movement into active position thereof and of the automatic retarding means.

7.'Tension control means for material drawn from a roll, comprising belt-means and rotary means for supporting the same to produce an arched contact with the roll and to be driven thereby, spring-pressed weight means operating on some of said rotary means for producing a slight and automatically equalized effect on the belt means and thereby on the roll, friction brake means operating on another of said rotary supporting means to produce an additional retarding effect on said belt means and roll, means for manually adjusting said brake means, guide means engaged by the traveling material and during, normal operation moved thereby against gravity, automatic brake means mounted in combination with said friction brake means, and means for connecting said guide means with said aut atic brake means to actuate the latter and take p slack in the material upon any slackening thereof and for automatically stopping the roll upon tearing of the material.

8. Tension control means -for material drawn from a roll, comprisingbelt means and rotary means for supporting the same so as to engage the roll and to be driven thereby, adjustable weight means depending from some of said rotary means and thereby carried by said belt means for producing a slight retarding effect on the roll and material, spring means connected with said weight means to compensate for the varying retarding efiect thereof due to the varying size of the roll, drum means on some of said rotary means, manually adjustable brake means on said drum means for retarding the rotation thereof and of said rotary means for producing a selected retarding efiect thereon and on said belt means, automatic brake means connected with said drum means, guide means over which said material travels and which it normally elevates, link means connecting said guide means and automatic brake means for automatically actuating the latter when the material suddenly slackens and for automatically stopping said belt means and roll when the material breaks, and check means connected with the guide means to provide for a slow retarding movement but a prompt forward movement into active position thereof and of the automatic brake means.

9. Tension control means for material traveling from a roll, comprising endless means engaging the roll and driven thereby, rotary means for supporting said endless means, brake means adjustably applicable to the rotary means for retarding the movement of the endless means and the roll to a selected extentand maintain an even tension in the material, and brake means operating automatically upon the rotary means to stop the same and the endless means and the roll upon sudden slackening or tearing of the material.

10. Tension controk means for material traveling from a roll, comprising 'endless means and means for movably supporting the same to engage the roll and be driven thereby, means connected to said supporting means for normally retarding the movement of the endless means and the roll to a selected extent, and brake means normally inactive but operating automatically on said supporting means for stopping the movement of the endless means and the roll upon sudden slackening or tearlng of the material;

11. Tension control means for material traveling from a roll, comprising endless means engaging the roll and driven thereby. supporting means whereon said endless means travels, brake means connected to said supporting means and normal-' means, being normally inactive but becoming active for automatically stopping said endless means and the roll upon sudden slackening or tearing of the material. a

ARTHUR W. BROMS.

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